Pittsburg, PA
The Pittsburgh Pirates brought Paul Skenes along slowly. The star rookie pitcher now understands why
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes didn’t love the plan the Pittsburgh Pirates laid out for him in the spring, the one designed to bring the most talented pitching prospect in a generation along slowly and protect the right arm on which so much relies.
Looking back after a dazzling season in which the 22-year-old rookie somehow surpassed even the most outsized expectations — starting the All-Star Game, flirting with the occasional no-hitter, holding his own against the best in the game and making the Pirates matter in a way they haven’t in nearly a decade — Skenes admits the decision to have him begin his first full professional season in Triple-A so he could build his endurance up gradually was the right call.
“I don’t know if there can be a perfect plan, but it was just about perfectly put together,” Skenes said Wednesday.
And the best part? It’s almost over.
While Skenes is looking forward to his final start of the season when the Pirates visit Yankee Stadium this weekend, he’s already thinking about what awaits in 2025, when the training wheels might come off, or at least be loosened considerably.
“Next year, it’s hopefully just going to be ‘Take the ball and pitch,” said Skenes, who is 11-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 22 starts in the majors. “So I’m looking forward to that.”
With good reason. The top overall pick in the 2023 draft arrived in the big leagues in May armed with a fastball that hit triple digits with regularity and a mustachioed swagger that turned his starts into what quickly became known locally as “Skenes Day.”
Though the mustache remains, other parts of Skenes’ approach have evolved. He worked diligently on developing his secondary pitches throughout the year, well aware the fastball/slider combination that served him so well at LSU wouldn’t be good enough to get out the best hitters on the planet.
It’s telling of Skenes’ development that on Sunday in Cincinnati, he mixed in a changeup occasionally, six of which served as strike three on a day he fanned nine batters to boost his season total to 167 in just 131 innings.
“It’s not like we’re just punching X and O and triangle or whatever it is (in a video game),” Skenes said. “It’s like, ‘Well, I have it so I might as well throw it.’”
Something that Pirates manager Derek Shelton called “rare” for a player in such an early stage of his career.
“You don’t see guys that are able to add to their arsenal their first year in the big leagues,” Shelton said. “They’re trying to throw strikes. They’re trying to execute pitches. They’re trying to get hitters out. Not that he wasn’t trying to do all those things, but to do it and add to it at the same time, I think it just shows you how special a player he is.”
Even if Skenes is doing his best to block out the noise or think much about a season that has made him a leading contender for NL Rookie of the Year.
While he wasn’t enthralled with the idea of beginning the season in the minors, Skenes refused to get ahead of himself. Instead, he went out and dominated at Triple-A while patiently waiting for a call he knew would eventually come if he simply went out and did his job.
Shelton could sense Skenes’ disappointment when he didn’t make the opening day roster. It’s one of the reasons Shelton is so optimistic about Skenes’ future.
“I’m in love with the fact that he wasn’t in love with it,” Shelton said. “He wanted to pitch. He wanted more. I think now he realized what our end goal was, and if we would’ve done something sooner, it would’ve been more challenging.”
The plan didn’t end when Skenes was called up. The Pirates have been intentional about giving him an extra day or two between starts, particularly down the stretch with the postseason out of reach following an August swoon.
It’s been a delicate needle to thread, though Skenes has said and done all the right things even though the inner competitor in him would like to get the chance to do his job more often. That opportunity is likely coming next spring.
“That’s why I’m here: I’m here to pitch,” he said “So I want to pitch as much as I can. If you shorten the rest period, you can pitch more as the season goes on. I’m looking forward to that. That’s not something that’s going to be a complete 180 next year from how it is this year, but there are going to be a bit fewer restrictions on me.”
And he hopes, fewer losses for the Pirates. Pittsburgh was in wild-card position at the trade deadline before faltering in the late summer thanks in large part to a shaky bullpen and one of the worst offenses in the majors. Skenes is optimistic better days are ahead, and the buzz he helped create at PNC isn’t just reserved for the days when he goes to work.
“We’re going to be better next year,” he said. “We’re going to win a lot more games next year. So just keep coming.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Pittsburg, PA
Steelers insider just poured gasoline on the Aaron Rodgers fire following latest report of what he was doing in Pittsburgh
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be in Pittsburgh over the weekend, with the thought that a deal would get done. One Steelers insider backs the report, but adds details that only compound a messy situation.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
At this point, the events of the past two seasons between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers could probably be a book or movie. Everything from walks on the beach, to him throwing with DK Metcalf before signing, to someone capturing him driving a rental car into Pittsburgh has made waves.
This offseason was supposed to be different, and a decision from Rodgers was supposed to come much earlier. However, the Steelers remain in a holding pattern, and one that many believed would end over the weekend, after it was reported that Rodgers would be in town to sign a contract. Well, that seems to be true, but like much of this saga over the past two years, there seems to be a holdup.
Aaron Rodgers 2025 stats
- 3.4 TD to INT ratio.
- 3,322 passing yards.
- 65.7% completion percentage.
Aaron Rodgers visited Pittsburgh, but not the Steelers over the weekend
“Aaron Rodgers has been in town for a couple days, but the Steelers have not met with him yet and instead have been talking with his agent. Rodgers has stayed away from the team’s South Side facility while the three-day rookie minicamp has been going on.” – Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The news from Dulac comes on the heels of the report from 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Rodgers would be visiting the Steelers over the weekend, with the intention to sign his deal.
That report was backed up nationally by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, but some in Steelers media (Mark Kaboly) said that if Rodgers was going to be in town, that was news to the team.
Omar Khan said as much during a radio hit after the reports surfaced, saying that he didn’t know where Rodgers was, but that talks remained fluid. Of course, general managers, including Omar Khan, have been known to bend the truth, which seems to lie somewhere in the middle here.
The bottom line with Aaron Rodgers
It’s obvious to me that the Steelers and Rodgers are held up over money. I know that it was said to not be the case, but you don’t intentionally avoid meeting with a team and have your agent talk to them, just days after they use a tender that determines your 2026 salary, if you’re just going to sign.
I would be surprised if Rodgers doesn’t sign at this point, but it doesn’t change the monetary situation that needs to be worked out here.
Kennywood honored two longtime employees Saturday who together have worked at the park for a combined 100 years.
Larry Russ and Bobby Trygar started working at Kennywood in 1976.
Russ began his Kennywood career as a games employee, working at the Big Apple dart game. In 1980, Russ applied to the security team and has held positions there ever since, including roles as a corporal, lieutenant, chief, and captain, according to a press release provided by the park.
Trygar began his time at Kennywood by working in the Parkside Café. Since he joined Kennywood, he has helped to maintain some of the park’s most iconic attractions, including the Racer, Log Jammer, and Merry Go Round.
“This is something you dream about. It’s so amazing,” Trygar said. “One of the best things when I worked out here was when I met my wife on the Racer. I was the mechanic. It’s just a great feeling to come here every day, see smiles on people’s faces, it’s tremendous. It gives you that extra boost and happiness.”
“I was planning on going into the mill, like everyone else was during my era,” Russ said. “Of course, the mill shut down. My father told me, ‘You don’t want to [work at the mill]. This place isn’t going to be here that much longer,’ and he was right, so I stuck it out here. I got a full-time position in 1980, and the rest is history.”
The park also dedicated two benches in their honor.
The new policy requiring anyone under 18 to be accompanied by someone over 21 in Market Square may not be as firm as some first thought.
KDKA observed unaccompanied kids in and around the square in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening, but in very small numbers, especially compared to the hundreds of kids who gathered as recently as during the NFL draft last month. Many of the kids were walking through the square or to restaurants like Chipotle.
It was the kids who lingered on Saturday evening who were approached by either youth outreach teams, private security or officers.
Von Madden — the founder of AIM, a youth outreach group — said it’s when kids start gathering in large numbers that they’ll be asked to leave.
“I don’t think they are going to be kicked out of the space for buying food or walking by,” Madden said. “The policy was so they’re allowed to hang out, but if they’re causing disruption, they were asked to move.”
Outreach workers within the square on Saturday evening said they’ve been approaching kids to make sure they are aware of the rules, but aren’t forcing them to leave. Some workers suggested alternative places they could go, as they work to form relationships with the kids
Madden, who was not at the square on Saturday, said in theory, enforcement works by private security engaging kids first, and then if that doesn’t work, outreach staff comes over. Only as a last resort are police officers brought in.
KDKA watched as a group of about 15 to 20 kids formed along Market Street steps away from a police SUV on Saturday evening. A member of the private security approached the kids first, pointing toward the exit of the square. Once more kids gathered, a group of five to 10 officers walked over, and the group dispersed toward Liberty Avenue.
A group of teenagers near Chipotle told KDKA that officers told them they had to leave if they weren’t actually going to the restaurant. Madden said the policy, which is in effect from Thursday to Sunday from 3 p.m to midnight, has worked well this week.
“It was phenomenal. Thursday was great,” Madden said. “The kids came, a lot of kids. They were absolutely excited about everything going on.”
Thursday was the first night for the temporary roller rink in Market Square, and a rainy Friday kept many people away. People enjoying their Saturday evening in the square gave mixed reviews about the policy.
“I think it’s definitely necessary,” Cristina from Butler told KDKA. “It keeps the community safe, and it allows adults and parents to know that their kids are safe as well, and just a more controlled environment.”
Danielle Graham from Robinson said she’d been observing kids interacting with police and believes kids aren’t welcome in Market Square, even if they are not being disruptive. She said there was a discrepancy in what private security and officers knew about the rule, adding that police asked her if the child she was chaperoning was her legal guardian.
She said she offered to chaperone kids to allow them to enjoy the square and so she could observe what was going on.
“There’s no clear understanding from the people that are supposedly enforcing it,” Robinson said. “You just put more vulnerable kids in front of law enforcement, things can go wrong.”
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick shared her own criticism of the policy during a meeting last week.
“Not only does this feel highly unwelcoming to families with teens, it also seems questionable in terms even of enforcement,” Warwick said. “I don’t know that there’ll be like a private security, what are we checking IDs like, you know? How is this working? My understanding is it’s on an event permit.”
KDKA-TV did not observe any IDs being checked on Saturday and saw at most 12 officers in the square at once, along with the private security.
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